Members of the Committee on Actuarial Evidence (AEC) will provide an update on its recent activities and a summary of its plans and priorities for the coming year. This is your opportunity to ask questions and give input to the AEC.

At present, the CIA’s top two strategic objectives are to “influence policy setting” and “build the Canadian brand”. Several initiatives of the AEC for 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 are aligned with these priorities, and have proceeded/will proceed with support from the CIA Head Office. Learn more about the initiatives taken by the CIA to raise the profile of the AE practice area with key stakeholders and also to better serve our small practice area.

Most AE actuaries are somewhat familiar with the Supreme Court of Canada trilogy. But could we explain the key principles of those important decisions to a client or to a colleague? Since 1978, the courts have rendered many other important legal decisions related to personal injury and wrongful death damages that are relevant to actuarial practice. Are we familiar with those cases? Maybe not. Come along on a voyage through the past 35 years of jurisprudence as the speakers explore selected legal decisions of national and regional importance. The discussion will begin with the trilogy and move on to more recent developments of interest to actuaries.

Thanks to the new open licence agreements offered by Statistics Canada, the CIA has made earnings tables derived from the 2011 census available to CIA members free of charge. Thus, actuaries who may not have subscribed to the earnings tabulations in the past can now take advantage of these tables to assist in the quantification of lost earnings. This will be a hands-on introduction to the tables. Bring your laptops!

We all think we know the Rules of Professional Conduct, but do we really appreciate all of the inherent nuances? Two members of the Committee on Professional Conduct and legal counsel for the CIA will review the practical and legal considerations of our Rules.

A review of the findings from the recently-completed CIA-sponsored research project. The research looked at stakeholder attitudes towards mandated discount rates across Canada, and modelled how—with the benefit of hindsight—those rates have performed in the past for plaintiffs and defendants. What level of precision is necessary in order to satisfy government, the courts, and other interested stakeholders that pecuniary damage economic loss calculations are appropriate? What are some other countries doing?

Many legal decisions rely on the testimony of expert witnesses. Sometimes most of the decision is focused on the role of the experts retained by one or both parties. The speakers will summarize some of the established and newly evolving practices that apply to opinion witnesses across Canada. They will introduce the audience to important recent guidance from the bench in Canada, and outline the role of an economic loss expert witness in the United States.

Structured settlements have long been a popular approach for pecuniary damage awards in personal injury cases. But how does the quantum paid by the defendant compare to the damages calculated according to the relevant mandated discount rates and rules of civil procedure? A life insurance actuary will provide a primer on how structured settlements are underwritten and priced.

Enjoy traditional Italian cuisine at this networking opportunity being held inside the historic former Adelaide court house. Your classic Southern Italian dinner will be served Family Style and will include appetizers, salads, several choices of pasta, dessert and coffee.

Spouses and partners are welcome, but please note that advance registration and payment are required. No registrations for the dinner will be accepted after September 5 and no on-site reservations are permitted. The cost of the dinner is $45 per person, gratuity included. All beverages are extra.

No refunds are available if you are unable to attend after registering.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

The Ontario government has effectively removed about 80 percent of the traditional “marriage breakdown pension valuation” role previously filled by AE practitioners by requiring pension administrators to provide pension valuations for matrimonial property equalization purposes. No other province has (yet?) followed suit. Despite the recent changes, Ontario AE practitioners may still provide a number of pension-related services to family lawyers. These include reviewing the appropriateness of the assumptions and the accuracy of the administrators’ valuation, valuing excluded pension benefits, calculating appropriate disposition costs (i.e., the income tax adjustment), explaining the tax consequences of partitioning the pension, and assisting with the drafting of the separation agreement. For the most part, these are services that actuaries outside of Ontario could also provide to clients. This will be an interactive session, so please bring your ideas and observations.

Even the most experienced actuary may shudder at the inherent complexities of a wrongful death file: self-employment, pension loss, dependency rates, collateral benefits, and more. The speakers, all very experienced, will address the current issues, offer their insights, and answer questions from the floor.

In this highly interactive session, several AE practitioners will present problems of a professional or technical nature. The audience will be invited to offer answers and perspectives regarding the issues at hand: health-adjusted life expectancies, valuation of life interests, valuation of pension property under forfeiture scenarios (family law), valuation of pension losses (class actions), and complying with the Rules of Professional Conduct.